State-Funded Travel Policy

Policy Statement

The policy outlines allowable travel expenses using state funds for SUNY Brockport students, faculty, and staff.

Purpose/Scope

This policy provides the criteria for allowable travel expenses for SUNY Brockport students, faculty and staff using state funds.

Applicability

This policy applies to all students, faculty and staff. This policy does not apply to grants and awards administered by the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation has separate travel policies that follow sponsor and federal regulations.

Definitions

Employee’s Official Station – An employee’s official station is used to determine allowable travel expense reimbursement. One’s official station is either SUNY Brockport or the Rochester Educational Opportunity Center (REOC), unless otherwise determined. 

Travel Status – Employees are in travel status when they are on official business and more than 70 miles from both their official station and place of residence, based on whichever is closest to the official business location. Employees can be reimbursed for mileage, tolls, or parking costs but will not be allowed meals or lodging within 70 miles of their official station and place of residence. *For assistance in determining travel status, please contact Procurement and Payment Services.

Policy Procedures

I.  Official Station & Travel Status

1. An employee’s official station is used to determine allowable travel expense reimbursement. One’s official station is either SUNY Brockport or the Rochester Educational Opportunity Center (REOC), unless otherwise determined. 
2. Employees are in travel status when they are on official business and more than 70 miles from both their official station and place of residence, based on whichever is closest to the official business location. Employees can be reimbursed for mileage, tolls, or parking costs but will not be allowed meals or lodging within 70 miles of their official station and place of residence. 
3. Subject to business justification and pre-approval, employees may exceptionally be allowed meals and lodging reimbursement when more than 35 miles, but less than 70 miles, from their official station and place of residence, per SUNY Brockport’s State-Funded Overnight Travel Pre-Approval Form. 

II.  The Reimbursement Process: Travel Voucher

All requests for reimbursement from a state account must be filed on the State of New York Travel Voucher. This form is required for all travel to be paid with State funds. The traveler should complete all information requested on the Travel Voucher. Failure to properly complete the form could delay the approval process. 

Each Travel Voucher should clearly explain the purpose and nature of the trip, and all supporting documentation should be attached and cross-referenced on the travel voucher. 

The traveler will forward their completed Travel Voucher with all supporting documents to their supervisor for approval. The form is then signed by all necessary approvers and forwarded to the Procurement and Payment Services department. The Procurement and Payment Services department will monitor compliance of approvals and will address any issues with the traveler.

Persons who travel before obtaining approval do so at their own risk and may not be reimbursed for their travel costs.

III.  Travel Expenses

1. Departure/Arrival Time Requirements: Charges for meals will be allowed when the time of departure from home or office at the beginning of a trip necessarily occurs before the hour of 7 am and concludes after the hour of 6 pm. 
2. Lodging and Meal Rates: 
   1. State regulations provide reimbursement limits for meal and lodging costs incurred as a result of authorized travel. No reimbursement is allowed for lunch.
   2. Allowable lodging and meal rates are dependent upon the county and city to which the employee travels. When completing Travel Vouchers, the city and county traveled to must be clearly indicated for payment to be made. 
   3. For current per diem rates based on travel location, please refer to the U.S. General Services Administration’s Per Diem Rates.
3. Overnight Travel Status: An employee in overnight travel status without lodging receipts will be allowed the following reimbursements. However, the name and full address of the host must be included in the documentation attached to the travel voucher.
   

   Location	Per Diem
   New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester Counties	$50
   Cities of Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and their respective surrounding metropolitan areas	$40
   All other locations in New York State	$35
   Foreign/Out of State (this includes any out of state tax on lodging)	$50

4. Non-overnight Travel Status (Meals): Employees on business trips lasting one day or less may be eligible for reimbursement of breakfast ($5) and dinner ($12). However, the Internal Revenue Service requires that meal reimbursements associated with travel not requiring the employee to stay overnight, constitutes taxable income to the employee. Thus, these reimbursements are reported in the employee’s gross income and are subject to withholding taxes.
5. Transportation
   1.  Vehicle Rental
      1. To request a vehicle, please call Enterprise Rent-A-Car at (845) 485-2222, or you may process the request online.
      2. For our Enterprise direct billing number, please call our Accounts Payable and P-Card Coordinator via (585) 395-2768. This will avoid out-of-pocket expenses for the traveler. The customer number will be recognized by the rental representative and will guarantee that you will receive SUNY Brockport’s rates.
      3. When making the reservation please provide the traveler’s full name, campus phone number and campus email address.
      4. Renters are reminded to inspect the entire vehicle visually with a representative upon pick-up and note any areas of concern or existing damage prior to the rental. Upon return of the vehicle, please have a representative inspect for damage before leaving the location.
      5. In the event of an accident or incident during the rental period, it is recommended that you contact the police for a written police report. It is also recommended that insurance information be exchanged with the other party. Even if the accident is not your fault, you must get the information of the other vehicle involved and the insurance provider. Travelers will be asked to complete an incident report by the rental company, even if it is unclear how the damage occurred. This will allow the rental company to open an investigation into the incident.
   2. Gas: If a personal vehicle or a rental vehicle is used for travel, gas charges can be reimbursed with the appropriate receipts.
   3. Personal Vehicle Mileage: If a personal vehicle was used rather than a rental, the traveler may claim mileage reimbursement (gas and mileage cannot be claimed simultaneously). The Statement of Automobile Travel form should be completed and attached to the Travel Voucher.
   4. Thruway Tolls & Parking: If a personal vehicle or a rental vehicle is used for travel, parking and toll charges can be reimbursed with the appropriate receipts. A NYS E-ZPass statement, with the appropriate dates, times and charges highlighted, is an appropriate toll receipt.
   5. Airfare
   6. Bus/Train
   7. Taxi/Uber

IV.  Supporting Documents Required

1. Receipts - these documents must show the method of payment
   1. Registration Receipts
   2. Paid hotel bill with room breakdowns
   3. Airline Receipts
   4. Ground Transportation receipts (i.e. bus, train, gas, Uber, etc.)
   5. Parking Receipts
   6. Toll receipts or E-ZPass Statement
   7. Meals do not require receipts and will be reimbursed based on approved per diem rates. Overnight meals require a hotel receipt.
2. Conference Agenda, Program Itinerary/Brochure, Formal Invitation etc. 

NOTE: SUNY Brockport does not pay New York State Sales Tax. When traveling on SUNY Brockport business, the traveler must present a Tax Exemption Certificate for lodging and transportation vendors (when accepted). Travelers, please make sure you are using the Tax Exemption Certificate for hotel room tax (ST-129).

Links to Related Procedures and Information

State of New York Travel Voucher
Statement of Automobile Travel form
SUNY Brockport’s State-Funded Overnight Travel Pre-Approval Form
Tax Exemption Certificate
Travel Procedures & Reimbursement
U.S. General Services Administration’s Per Diem Rates

Contact Information

Accounts Payable & P-Card Coordinator

History (in descending order)

Approval

This policy was approved by President’s Cabinet on 2021-05-18